When will Huntsville students receive ACT incentive money?

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT)– Huntsville City Schools finished their first testing season using money to motivate students to up their ACT scores last spring.

But those who did well still haven’t received the checks they were promised, a concerned parent told WHNT News 19. We took action to find out when schools will pay up.

Dr. Casey Wardynski, Huntsville City Schools Superintendent, said, “If a kid goes to college, they’ll make more money. Buy a bigger house, higher taxes, higher property taxes. So the school system, people might say how can you afford to do that? Well, it’s an investment [into their future and the community.]”

For each benchmark the students made, they received $50. Wardynski says the total payout will be more than $176,000.

Those checks will be issued within the month, he says.

“We want to make a big deal out of it. This is a big deal! This is like getting a trophy when you’re a football player,” he told WHNT News 19.

The individual high schools will be setting dates for assemblies to honor the students who performed well with check presentations.

Around 70% of last year’s Huntsville City Schools’ juniors scored well enough to cash in.